DEEPSTATE — PHOTO BY FRANCES CARTER / LOGO BY ZOE HANNAY
DEEPSTATE — 'WON'T LET YOU DOWN'
One of the country’s brightest house and electronica front-runners, deepState, has announced her new album Dreams, alongside what will probably be the song that gets us through a tough winter — ‘Won’t Let You Down’. Laying a canvas of ethereal synths and hook-driven samples, the track slowly swirls with energy before breaking out into one of the most euphoric, 90’s inspired piano breakdowns I’ve heard in a while. I quite literally levitated off of my chair when it dropped.
“Won’t Let You Down is probably the most upbeat track on Dreams and I feel that it stands out from the rest in that way.” — deepState, AKA Jessica Morgan says about the track, which is presented visually via a music video directed by Frances Carter (with thanks to NZ On Air).
“We decided on black and white for the majority of the video, with the transition to neon colour serving to illustrate how immersive and transformational it can be to just let loose and have a good, sweaty dance." — Frances Carter
The new album will be released via Sunreturn on September 1st. Pre-order it HERE.
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VERA ELLEN x HAHKO — 'A NIGHT WITH VERA ELLEN'
Musician and host Hahko will be hosting our very own Vera Ellen as the special guest at his latest ‘A Night With…’ event — this time, A Night With Vera Ellen — which ties together live performance with conversation and Q&A. Held at the iconic Vogelmorn Bowling Club in Wellington on June 15th, don’t miss this unique opportunity to witness Vera’s unbelievable songwriting chops live and in the flesh — you can even pick her brains and dive deeper into her latest album Ideal Home Noise.
Tickets are available HERE via Undertheradar. You can keep up with Hahko by signing up to the Hahko Express newsletter HERE (some very excellent reads included).
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RIIKI REID — HEADLING SHOW IN PŌNEKE
We invited Riiki Reid to perform on What Was That Thing? back in 2021 at our Newtown store, and since then she’s been showing no signs of slowing down, both on-stage and off, touring with Lorde, hosting dance workshops, releasing EPs and recording more new music. And on June 10th, Riiki Reid will be performing her debut headline show at San Fran in Wellington, brought to us by Low Strung, complete with a full band, dancers and a stage set to ignite her already-electrifying performance. Check out her Run Lola Run-inspired music video for her song 'Meet You Again' above.
Tickets are available via her website HERE.
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BABE MARTIN — 'KNOCKED FOR SIX IN BHX'
Tāmaki Makaurau-based label Sunreturn has had a busy week, welcoming Babe Martin to their roster with the announcement of an EP and a new song ‘Knocked For Six In BHX’. Debuting with a stripped-back ballad can be a bold move for a new artist, but for Babe Martin (AKA Zoë Larsen Cumming), this' route works in her favour, as she has managed to create something utterly unique (with the help of producer Jazmine Mary thanks to NZ On Air’s New Music Development programme), conjoining pads of keyboards and cello, bridged together by her pining, crystalline vocals.
“At its core it’s about living apart from people that you love and the inevitable goodbye after a catch up.” Cumming muses about the single. “It’s about family, airports, and old feelings you’ve not felt in a while sneaking up on you when you least expect. Growing up I travelled back and forth between Ngunnawal Country (Canberra, Australia) and Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand), so there were lots of goodbyes and hellos. ‘Knocked For Six in BHX’ describes having that airport feeling I had as a child sneak up on me as an adult.”
Babe Martin’s debut EP The Versoix EP is out September 7 via Sunreturn (pre-order HERE). She’ll also be playing a single release show alongside K M T P (who apparently also have some new music coming) at Nice Goblins in Tāmaki Makaurau — tickets available HERE.
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THE WINE CELLAR 19TH ANNIVERSARY GIG
Tāmaki Makaurau’s beloved Wine Cellar is turning 19, and once again they’re throwing a big party with lots of amazing guests. If you’re a live music attendee in Auckland, there’s almost no doubt that you’ve had a great night or two at The Wine Cellar. So why not go ahead and celebrate! Taking place at Wine Cellar itself as well as Whammy Backroom tonight (Saturday the 3rd of June), the night will be jam packed with sets from the likes of Louisa Nicklin, Imugi 이무기, Roy Irwin, Skilaa (whose song ‘I Never Knew’ is featured above), CODES and more.
Tickets available via UTR HERE.
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HANS PUCKET — NO DRAMA AOTEAROA TOUR
Playing a whopping thirteen dates across the motu, Hans Pucket will be touring their fantastic 2022 album No Drama (a favourite 2022 album of many of the staff here at Flying Nun) this July. The quartet (consisting of Oliver and Callum Devlin, Jono Nott and Callum Passels) recently returned from performing all over SXSW in Austin, Texas, spreading the same musical joy that granted them the title of 2022 SRN Te Rōpū Mariu (Favourite Group) here in Aotearoa at last year's SRN Awards. Now it’s your turn to see them live and in the flesh (Thanks 100% Good). You know what, they probably are coming to a town near you, so check out the dates over at the ticket link HERE and secure a ticket.
You can purchase their album No Drama via our store HERE.
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MARLIN'S DREAMING — AOTEAROA TOUR
Marlin’s Dreaming are hitting the road! The Tāmaki Makaurau-based outfit released their fantastic album Hasten in 2021, and have continued to make waves since then, opening for the likes of Parquet Courts and The Chills. Now that the Covid restrictions have eased, the band can finally tour their album’s material in its entirety, thanks to the folks at Banished Music. As you can see from their live performance of the album above, it’s fantastic stuff — don’t miss them when they visit your part of the motu!
"We hadn’t realised the extent to which the pandemic had disrupted our outlook on touring... It’s been a long time between drinks" — Semisi Ma’ia’i, Marlin’s Dreaming.
Tickets are available via Banished Music HERE. Auckland tickets are available HERE. You can listen to their latest album Hasten via Bandcamp HERE.
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